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Chemical equations are a way of writing out chemical reactions, using the correct chemical formulae of the substance(s) which undergo the reaction and the product(s) formed.
The numbers placed in front of the formulae indicate the absolute relative amounts of reactants involved and products formed: a chemical equation is always "in balance" like this, because matter can be neither created nor destroyed.
For example, methane burns in air, combining with oxygen to give carbon dioxide and water
The chemical equation for this is as follows:
CH4 + 2O2 —→ CO2 + 2H2O
If we count up the atoms on each side of the equation (on each side of the arrow) it is the same, and in terms of proportions, we see that in this reaction, every 1 molecule (or one mole) of methane is reacting with 2 molecules (or two moles) of oxygen to produce one molecule (or one mole) of carbon dioxide plus two molecules (or two moles) of water.
Anne Evans
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